Veronica Strickland-Birkenstock
Owner, Practical Employee Solutions
Mrs. Birkenstock is President and owner of Practical Employee Solutions (PES), an experienced U.S. Based Recruiting and Service Organization providing innovative solutions to solve recruiting/placement opportunities. PES strives to go beyond the limits of a typical recruiting agency by building relationships to understand specific needs for each client. PES offers employers an opportunity to reach a global applicant base, with proven recruiting programs, designed to allow the employers the freedom to tailor a program that meets specific needs at an affordable price.
PES was established in 1996 in Dallas, Texas, approved to do business with the U.S. government and multiple foreign governments that provides temporary labor—specializing in H2-B visa processing.
Mrs. Birkenstock is also an equity owner of a multi-family home complex, and has other real estate interests (hotels and agriculture).
Mrs. Birkenstock’s past experience includes over 15 plus years of executive level human resource leadership in the hospitality industry, including 10 years as Director of Human Resources at the Kingston Plantation Resort and Sands Resorts in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Mrs. Birkenstock holds a Masters of Art Degrees - Human Resources Management and Development, from Webster University, is an undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina.
Mrs. Birkenstock, having overcome many challenges personally, from being orphaned at age 21, supporting herself through college to having a cardiac pacemaker, is dedicated both personally to her family, and to society. She is a highly motivated business owner and entrepreneur with a standard that far surpasses success to significance, not only for her family, but to the community and global impact. She is truly an agent of change and significance, having achieved success personally, professionally, and politically.
Mrs. Birkenstock is the mother of a 26 year old son (Walt Strickland) who was married last October. Both he and his wife work in Health Care services. Mrs. Birkenstock is the adoptive mother of two biological children - ages 11 and 6. She is married to Brian Birkenstock and currently resides in Frisco, Texas where she and her husband are actively involved in the community and in local politics. She loves God, loves her family and friends, and is committed to Making America Great Again.
Terry Forrester
(coming soon)
James Judkins
(coming soon)
Tim Portland
CEO, Yellowstone Landscape Group
Tim is the Chairman & CEO of Yellowstone Landscape, a leading commercial landscape services firm in the Southern United States. Tim serves on the Board of the Seasonal Employment Alliance, an H-2B advocacy organization pushing hard for congressional reform of the H-2B program and US labor situation. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP), and chairs the NALP’s H-2B Advisory Committee.
Yellowstone Landscape currently employs nearly 3000 personnel in 30 branch locations that range from Raleigh to Palm Beach to Las Vegas. Since 2013, Yellowstone has more than doubled its US workforce - from 975 in 2013, to over 2000 and growing today - and complements its US workforce with over 600 seasonal H-2B guest workers. Yellowstone started using the H-2B program in Houston Texas in 1995, and some of Yellowstone’s longest serving H-2B personnel have been returning to work every year with Yellowstone since 2001 (that’s 17 straight years for those who may be ‘math challenged’).
The H-2B program is a strong and complementary component of Yellowstone’s labor strategy, in part since it eliminates the need for Yellowstone to lay off US workers at the end of the season in the branches where it uses H-2B labor. Yellowstone has and continues to invest extraordinary efforts into recruiting, training, motivating and retaining its US workforce, and hence strongly seeks to avoid having to lay off or terminate workers who have consistently performed through the heat and humidity of the summer landscape season in the South.
Tim previously was the CEO of USI Building Solutions – a constructions services contractor, and was the President of several divisions of Scotts/Miracle-Gro, including the Ortho and Roundup brands, and Scotts LawnService. Tim and his family live in Charlotte, NC.